ANGOLA, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Volleyball fell in the first round of the MIAA Tournament at Trine University, 3-2, battling to the very end of the match. The Belles finish their season 16-11 (3-5 MIAA) while the Thunder improved to 11-14.
While Trine got out to an early lead, Saint Mary's bounced back with a 5-0 lead to take an early lead. Both teams traded points as the Belles extended their lead to 17–11. The Thunder kept the match close, and after the Belles got to set point, Trine matched them, extending the set past the 25 point threshold. While Saint Mary's took a 25-24 lead late, Trine went on a 3-0 run to take the first set, 27-25. Junior Caroline Carens (Naperville, IL) led the team with five kills in the set while Giuliana Graczyk (Chicago, IL) added 10 assists in the first set.
The two teams traded points to open the second set before Trine got out to an early lead. Saint Mary's battled back to tie the match and both teams began trading points again. The Belles would go on a strong 9-3 run to not only take the lead but take home the second set, 25-19, to tie the match at one apiece. Senior Delaney Martin (North Judson, IN) tallied five kills in the set to bring her total to seven while Carens brought her total to seven as well. Graczyk brought her assist total to 15 while junior Abby Reese (Elkhart, IN) brought hers to double-digits with 10.Â
The teams traded points throughout the majority of the third set with neither team pulling away from the other. Saint Mary's got out to a four point lead late, leading 20-16, but Trine bounced right back to tie the match at 20. The teams continued to go back and forth through the 25 point mark. While the match was tied at 25, the Belles used a kill from Carens and a service ace from senior Karli Fegan (Orland Park, IL) to close out the set, 27-25, taking a 2-1 lead in the match. Five Belles tallied at least six kills while Carens brought her team high total to 13. Graczyk surpassed 20 assists, finishing the set with 22.
The fourth set was the same story as the rest of the match, Saint Mary's got out to an early five point lead before Trine was able to come back and take the lead themselves. The two teams went back and forth, trading points through the majority of the set. After being knotted at 19, the Thunder went on a quick 6-2 run to close out the set, 25-21, to tie the match at two and send the first round matchup into a fifth and final set. Three Belles finished the set with double-digit kills while Carens moved up to 18 on the match, freshman Shannon Rudge (Granger, IN) moved to 13 and Martin moved up to 10. Graczyk improved to 30 assists while Rudge led the team with 24 digs.
The fifth set got started with the Belles getting off to an early lead before both teams knotted up at seven. The Thunder took a one point lead as the teams switched sides and never looked back. As they kept the Belles at bay, Saint Mary's started to mount their comeback, knocking the deficit to just one point. Trine was able to take home the victory after finishing off the set, 15-13, and the match, 3-2.
Carens tied her career high, which she set in the regular season finale against the University of Olivet, with 20 kills to lead the Belles. Rudge tallied a career high with 15 kills on the match while Martin finished with 12. Graczyk set a career high with 34 assists on the match while Reese added 26. Graczyk also led the team with four service aces.
Defensively, Fegan led the team with 26 digs while Rudge set another career high with 25 digs. Carens led the team with three total blocks while senior Grace Braselton (Grand Rapids, MI) added two of her own.
